Antenna module and communication equipment

Abstract

The utility model provides an antenna module and communication equipment. The antenna module comprises a circuit board; an isolation antenna; the at least two antenna assemblies are arranged on the circuit board, the adjacent antenna assemblies are oppositely arranged, and the isolation antennas are arranged between the adjacent antenna assemblies; the antenna assembly comprises a first ceramic dielectric layer, a first radiation sheet, a second ceramic dielectric layer, a second radiation sheet and a third ceramic dielectric layer which are stacked in sequence, the first ceramic dielectric layer is arranged on the circuit board, the second ceramic dielectric layer is provided with a through hole, and the first radiation sheet and the second radiation sheet are coupled through a conductive column arranged in the through hole; the first radiation sheet and the second radiation sheet are at least partially overlapped. Therefore, the size of the UWB antenna can be reduced, the resonant frequency, the bandwidth and the efficiency are improved, the isolation between adjacent antennas is improved, and the directivity of the antenna is more stable.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of antennas, in particular to an antenna module and a communication device. BACKGROUND

[0002] With the rapid development of intelligent devices and Internet of Things (IoT), integration, miniaturization, low latency and high transmission rate have become the development trend of future intelligent communication devices. As the space of intelligent communication devices becomes smaller and the surrounding metal environment becomes more complex, the antenna design space is limited, and it is difficult to ensure that the performance of the antenna meets the design requirements in a limited space. Taking an UWB (Ultra Wide Band) antenna as an example, the traditional steel sheet type UWB antenna and the PCB UWB antenna have a large footprint and poor stability, and are easily affected by the surrounding metal, resulting in poor performance. At the same time, the isolation between the antennas is not enough, and the antennas will interfere with each other, resulting in low efficiency. CONTENT OF THE UTILITY MODEL

[0003] In view of this, the present application provides an antenna module and a communication device, which can improve the problems of insufficient miniaturization, low bandwidth, low efficiency and poor isolation between antennas of traditional UWB antennas.

[0004] The antenna module provided by the present application comprises:

[0005] a circuit board;

[0006] an isolation antenna arranged on the circuit board;

[0007] at least two antenna assemblies arranged on the circuit board and arranged opposite to each other between adjacent antenna assemblies, and the isolation antenna is arranged between the adjacent antenna assemblies;

[0008] The antenna assembly comprises a first ceramic dielectric layer, a first radiation sheet, a second ceramic dielectric layer, a second radiation sheet and a third ceramic dielectric layer which are stacked in sequence, the first ceramic dielectric layer is arranged on the circuit board, the second ceramic dielectric layer is provided with a through hole, the first radiation sheet and the second radiation sheet are coupled by a conductive column arranged in the through hole, and the first radiation sheet and the second radiation sheet at least partially overlap.

[0009] Optionally, the circuit board is provided with a hollow area, and the orthographic projection of the first radiation sheet falls within the hollow area, so that the edge of the first radiation sheet is arranged opposite to the edge of the hollow area.

[0010] Optionally, the first radiation sheet and the second radiation sheet are both long strips, and the length direction of the first radiation sheet is perpendicular to the length direction of the second radiation sheet.

[0011] Optionally, the circuit board is provided with a microstrip line, and the microstrip line is coupled to feed the first radiating sheet.

[0012] Optionally, the microstrip line and the first radiating sheet are oppositely arranged along the stacking direction through the first ceramic dielectric layer to achieve the coupling feeding.

[0013] Optionally, the relative distance between the microstrip line and the first radiating sheet along the stacking direction is in millimeter level.

[0014] Optionally, the microstrip line is flush with the surface of the circuit board.

[0015] Optionally, the antenna assembly includes a plurality of soldering pins arranged at least on the first ceramic dielectric layer to solder and fix the antenna assembly on the circuit board.

[0016] Optionally, the soldering pin is arranged adjacent to the short side of the first radiating sheet, and the distance between the soldering pin and the short side of the first radiating sheet is greater than the distance between the long side of the first radiating sheet and the adjacent edge of the hollow area.

[0017] The communication device provided in the present application includes the antenna module of any one of the above.

[0018] As described above, in the antenna module and the communication device of the present application, each antenna assembly includes the first radiating sheet and the second radiating sheet arranged in a stack, which can make the overall antenna have a smaller footprint, meet the miniaturization design requirement, be applicable to more types of communication devices, and have extremely high versatility. In addition, by reasonably changing the size of any radiating sheet to adjust the overlapping area of the two radiating sheets, the resonant frequency of the antenna can be better adjusted, and the bandwidth and efficiency are effectively improved. In addition, by arranging the isolation antenna between the adjacent two antenna assemblies, the isolation between the adjacent antennas can be greatly improved, the influence on the radiation direction of the antenna is reduced, the directivity of the antenna is more stable, and the consistency of the antenna design is beneficial.

[0019] Further, the present application realizes the coupling feeding of each antenna assembly through the microstrip line, improves the bandwidth of the antenna through the coupling feeding, and reduces the influence of the circuit board on the radiation direction of the antenna. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0020] Figure 1 is a structural schematic diagram of an antenna module provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0021] Figure 2 is Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the antenna module exposing one of the antenna assemblies;

[0022] Figure 3 is Figure 2An enlarged structural schematic view of the antenna module in the middle circular region;

[0023] Figure 4 An illustrative view of the structure of each layer of an antenna module of the present application;

[0024] Figure 5 An illustrative view of the S11 parameter of two antenna modules of the present application;

[0025] Figure 6 An illustrative view of the efficiency of two antenna modules of the present application;

[0026] Figure 7 An illustrative view of the isolation between two antenna modules of the present application;

[0027] Figure 8 An illustrative view of the PDoA response of an antenna module of the present application according to source polarization;

[0028] Figure 9 An illustrative view of the radiation direction of two antenna modules of the present application in horizontal and vertical directions.

[0029] A first direction x, a second direction y, and a third direction z;

[0030] An antenna module 100, a circuit board 1, a solder pad 10, a hollow region 11, a recessed region 12, an isolation antenna 2, an antenna module 3, a microstrip line 4, a first antenna module 3a, a second antenna module 3b, a solder leg 30, a first ceramic dielectric layer 31, a first radiating patch 32, a second ceramic dielectric layer 33, a second radiating patch 34, a third ceramic dielectric layer 35, a through hole 331, and a conductive column 332. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] To solve the above technical problems in the prior art, in the antenna module and the communication device of the present application, the radiating patches of each antenna module are arranged in a stack, so that the footprint of the entire antenna is reduced, meeting the design requirement of miniaturization. In addition, the size of any radiating patch is changed to adjust the overlapping area between the radiating patches, so as to adjust the resonant frequency of the antenna, improve the bandwidth and efficiency. In addition, an isolation antenna is arranged between two adjacent antenna modules, so as to improve the isolation between the adjacent antennas.

[0032] The specific forms of the shape, number, size, and other parameters of any of the radiating patches, the isolation antenna, and the circuit board can be determined according to the actual scene requirements, and the present application is not limited thereto.

[0033] In order to make the purposes, technical solutions and advantages of the present application clearer, the technical solutions of the present application will be described clearly below in conjunction with specific embodiments and corresponding drawings. Obviously, the following described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments. In the case of no conflict, each of the following embodiments and technical features can be combined with each other, and also belong to the technical solutions of the present application.

[0034] In the description of the embodiments of the present application, the orientations or positional relationships indicated by the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", "clockwise", "counterclockwise" and the like are based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the technical solutions of the corresponding embodiments, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and cannot be understood as a limitation of the present application.

[0035] Please refer to Figures 1 to 4 The antenna module 100 of an embodiment of the present application includes a circuit board 1, an isolation antenna 2 and at least two antenna assemblies 3. The number and position of the antenna assemblies 3 and the isolation antenna 2 can be adapted according to actual needs, and the present application is not limited thereto. In the drawings, two antenna assemblies 3 and one isolation antenna 2 are provided only for exemplary display. For the convenience of description, the two antenna assemblies 3 will be referred to as "first antenna assembly 3a" and "second antenna assembly 3b" respectively.

[0036] The circuit board 1 includes but is not limited to a PCB (Printed Circuit Board). The circuit board 1 can be designed in a single-layer structure, or in a double-layer design as shown in Figure 1 and Figure 2 , that is, including a first circuit board main body and a second circuit board main body, or a multi-layer design.

[0037] For the convenience of description and understanding, the length direction of the antenna module 100 is referred to as the first direction x, the height direction or thickness direction is referred to as the second direction y, and the width direction is referred to as the third direction z in the placement orientation shown in the figure, and the first direction x, the second direction y, and the third direction z are perpendicular to each other, which can be regarded as three coordinate axes of a three-dimensional rectangular coordinate system. It should be understood that the so-called perpendicular in the entire application does not require that the included angle between the two be 90°, but a deviation of, for example, ±10° is allowed, that is, the so-called perpendicular can be understood as an included angle of 80° to 100° between any two directions. Similarly, the so-called parallel in the entire application does not require that the included angle between the two be 0° or 180°, but a deviation of, for example, ±10° is allowed, that is, the so-called parallel can be understood as an included angle of 0° to 10° or 170° to 190° between any two directions.

[0038] The antenna assembly 3 is arranged on the circuit board 1, for example, can be arranged on the upper surface of the circuit board 1 in the SMT (Surface Mounted Technology) manner. Adjacent two antenna assemblies 3 are arranged oppositely, and the so-called opposite arrangement can be understood as follows: in the mounting surface of the circuit board 1 or in the plane parallel to the circuit board 1, viewed along the first direction x, the distance between the adjacent two antenna assemblies 3 is not equal to zero.

[0039] The isolation antenna 2 is arranged on the circuit board 1 and located between the adjacent two antenna assemblies 3. The isolation antenna 2 is arranged oppositely with any antenna assembly 3, and the distance between the isolation antenna 2 and each antenna assembly 3 can be equal or not equal. The main function of the isolation antenna 2 is to reduce or eliminate the mutual interference between the adjacent two antenna assemblies 3, so as to ensure that each antenna assembly 3 can work independently and efficiently. The structure and specific form of the isolation antenna 2 can be referred to the related technology in the art, Figure 1 and Figure 2 which are only exemplary.

[0040] Any antenna assembly 3 can be realized as a single antenna, including but not limited to a UWB antenna. The structure of each antenna assembly 3 can be completely the same, or can contain the same named components, but the size and shape of each component are not the same. As shown in Figure 3 and Figure 4 A single antenna assembly 3 includes a first ceramic medium layer 31, a first radiation sheet 32, a second ceramic medium layer 33, a second radiation sheet 34, and a third ceramic medium layer 35 which are stacked in sequence, and the first ceramic medium layer 31 is arranged on the circuit board 1. In Figure 3 and Figure 4In the shown example, each antenna assembly 3 can include a plurality of soldering pins 30, for example, four soldering pins 30 are provided in the figure, each soldering pin 30 is provided on the first ceramic medium layer 31, and the circuit board 1 can be provided with a plurality of corresponding soldering pads 10, each soldering pad 10 is welded with each soldering pin 30 one by one to weld and fix the antenna assembly 3 on the circuit board 1. It should be noted that each soldering pin 30 has no any electrical connection relationship with the first radiation sheet 32 and the second radiation sheet 34, and each soldering pin 30 is only used for welding and fixing the antenna assembly 3, and is not used for feeding coupling between the circuit board 1 and the antenna assembly 3. Each antenna assembly 3 is a complete device, which can be independently produced, manufactured and sold. For any antenna assembly 3, the first ceramic medium layer 31, the second ceramic medium layer 33 and the third ceramic medium layer 35 form a ceramic medium body of the antenna assembly 3, completely wrap the first radiation sheet 32 and the second radiation sheet 34, and only expose the plurality of soldering pins 30 from the first ceramic medium layer 31.

[0041] The second ceramic medium layer 33 is provided with a through hole 331, and the first radiation sheet 32 and the second radiation sheet 34 are coupled through the conductive column 332 provided in the through hole 331, so that the first radiation sheet 32 and the second radiation sheet 34 are collectively realized as the radiation sheet of the antenna assembly 3. The materials of the first ceramic medium layer 31, the second ceramic medium layer 33 and the third ceramic medium layer 35 can be the same, so as to form the ceramic protective layer and the dielectric layer of each antenna assembly 3, and play the roles of protecting the antenna radiation sheet and adjusting the dielectric constant. For example, by adjusting the thickness of the second ceramic medium layer 33, the dielectric constant between the first radiation sheet 32 and the second radiation sheet 34 can be adjusted.

[0042] The first radiation sheet 32 and the second radiation sheet 34 can be made of the material of the radiation sheet of a conventional related antenna, and the material of the conductive column 332 can be completely the same as or different from the materials of the first radiation sheet 32 and the second radiation sheet 34. The through hole 331 can be formed by etching or other processes.

[0043] The first radiation sheet 32 and the second radiation sheet 34 at least partially overlap, that is, the orthographic projections of the first radiation sheet 32 and the second radiation sheet 34 at least partially overlap along the second direction y.

[0044] Based on the above, in the antenna module 100 of the present application, each antenna assembly 3 includes two radiation sheets 32, 34 arranged in layers, which can make the entire antenna have a smaller footprint, meet the miniaturization design requirement, and be applicable to more types of communication equipment, and have extremely strong universality. For example, the size of a single antenna assembly 3 can be 4.5 mm (length L) * 3.2 mm (width D) * 1.6 mm (height H), and the size of a single antenna is extremely small, which is convenient for integration in various types of equipment.

[0045] And, by reasonably changing the size of any one radiating patch to adjust the overlapping area between the two radiating patches 32, 34, the resonant frequency of the antenna can be better adjusted, so that the bandwidth and efficiency are effectively improved. For example, please refer to Figures 1 to 4 The first and second radiating patches 32, 34 can be long strips, the length direction of the first and second radiating patches 32, 34 is perpendicular, and the overlapping area between the first and second radiating patches 32, 34 is small. A smaller overlapping area means that each radiating patch can focus more on the area covered by its corresponding design, for example, it can reduce signal interference between different radiating patches, thereby improving overall signal quality. At the same time, each radiating patch can provide the best signal coverage in the specific direction of the corresponding design, and more efficiently utilize energy, thereby improving transmission efficiency to meet the needs of various wireless communication applications.

[0046] In addition, multiple antenna assemblies 3 can implement a multi-antenna design, which is conducive to the high-precision positioning of the antenna module 100. By arranging an isolation antenna 2 between two adjacent antenna assemblies 3, the isolation between adjacent antennas (i.e., two adjacent antenna assemblies 3) can be greatly improved, the influence on the radiation direction of the antenna can be reduced, and the directivity of each antenna can be more stable, which is conducive to the consistency of antenna design.

[0047] Please continue to refer to Figures 1 to 3 The first radiating patch 32 is arranged in the hollow area 11, and the edge of the first radiating patch 32 is arranged opposite to the edge of the hollow area 11. The hollow area 11 and the first radiating patch 32 can be rectangular, and the two long edges of the hollow area 11 can be arranged opposite to the two long edges of the first radiating patch 32, and the two short edges of the hollow area 11 can be arranged opposite to the two short edges of the first radiating patch 32. It should be noted that, due to the small distance between the adjacent edges, the two long edges of the first radiating patch 32 are close to each other, and even contact each other. Figure 3 The two long edges of the first radiating patch 32 are close to each other, and even contact each other.

[0048] Since the circuit board 1 has multiple layers of wiring (i.e., copper cladding) inside, the adjacent two layers of wiring are insulated by the material of the circuit board 1, and the different layers of wiring are coupled by the via and the conductive column arranged in the via, that is, the so-called interlayer coupling. Therefore, in the hollow area 11, the circuit board 1 exposes the copper cladding at each edge of the hollow area 11, and the first radiating patch 32 is arranged opposite to the edge of the hollow area 11 to form a slot antenna, thereby further improving the transmission efficiency of the entire antenna module 100, and being conducive to further reducing the size.

[0049] By adjusting the distance between the first radiating sheet 32 and the edge of the hollow area 11, the operating frequency of the slot antenna can be adjusted, while the return loss of the slot antenna is controlled.

[0050] In Figure 3 In the example shown, the four soldering pins 30 of any antenna assembly 3 are respectively arranged adjacent to the four top corners of the hollow area 11; each soldering pin 30 can be arranged adjacent to the short side of the first radiating sheet 32, the distance between the short side of the first radiating sheet 32 and the adjacent short side of the hollow area 11 is greater than the distance between the long side of the first radiating sheet 32 and the adjacent edge of the hollow area 11, and the distance between the soldering pin 30 and the short side of the first radiating sheet 32 is greater than the distance between the long side of the first radiating sheet 32 and the adjacent edge of the hollow area 11. At this time, the distance between each soldering pin 30 and the first radiating sheet 32 is large, which can avoid interference between each soldering pin 30 and the first radiating sheet 32.

[0051] Please continue to refer to Figures 1 to 3 As shown, the circuit board 1 can be provided with a microstrip line 4, and the microstrip line 4 is coupled and fed with the first radiating sheet 32. The application realizes the coupling and feeding of each antenna assembly 3 through the microstrip line 4, which can improve the bandwidth of each antenna and reduce the influence of the circuit board 1 on the antenna radiation direction.

[0052] In an example, the microstrip line 4 can be flush with the surface of the circuit board 1. For example, the surface of the circuit board 1 can be provided with a recessed area 12, and the depth (i.e. the length along the second direction y) of the recessed area 12 can be equal to the thickness of the microstrip line 4. At this time, when the microstrip line 4 is arranged in the recessed area 12, the microstrip line 4 can be flush with the surface of the circuit board 1, and the first ceramic dielectric layer 31 of each antenna assembly 3 can be directly formed on the surface of the microstrip line 4, that is, the thickness of the first ceramic dielectric layer 31 can be equal to the distance between the microstrip line 4 and the first radiating sheet 32.

[0053] Optionally, the microstrip line 4 and the first radiating sheet 32 are relatively arranged along the stacking direction (i.e. the second direction y) through the first ceramic dielectric layer 31, so as to realize the coupling and feeding. In actual scenarios, the relative distance between the microstrip line 4 and the first radiating sheet 32 along the stacking direction is millimeter level, that is, the thickness of the first ceramic dielectric layer 31 is millimeter level, for example, about 0.5 millimeter. The millimeter level relative distance can ensure that the microstrip line 4 and the first radiating sheet 32 have good coupling and feeding, and can also ensure that the first radiating sheet 32 is not exposed, that is, the first ceramic dielectric layer 31 can better protect the first radiating sheet 32.

[0054] For Figures 1 to 4The antenna module 100 shown in the structure, in the example that each antenna assembly 3 is a UWB antenna, combines Figure 5 The curve diagram of the S11 parameters of the two antenna assemblies 3 shown, the S11 parameters refer to the reflection coefficient of the input end of the antenna assembly 3, and are used to measure the matching degree between the antenna assembly 3 and the transmission line (i.e., the microstrip line 4), and combines Figure 5 As shown, when the resonant frequency is in 7.8-8.2GHz, the bandwidths of the two antenna assemblies 3 are both more than 400MHz, and the S11 parameters are both less than-10dB, so that the performances of the two antennas are both superior.

[0055] Combining Figure 6 The efficiency curve diagram of the two antenna assemblies 3 shown, it can be known that when the resonant frequency is in 7.8-8.2GHz, the efficiencies of the two antenna assemblies 3 are both greater than 40%, which is conducive to meeting the transmission performance requirements.

[0056] Combining Figure 7 The isolation curve diagram between the two antenna assemblies 3 shown, it can be known that the maximum isolation between the two antenna assemblies 3 is below-20dB, the interference between the adjacent two antenna assemblies 3 is very low, which is conducive to meeting the stability performance requirements of the communication equipment.

[0057] Combining Figure 8 The PDoA (Phase Difference of Arrival) response diagram (simulation CH9) generated according to the source polarization shown, wherein the abscissa represents the incident angle (AOA, Angle of Arrival) of the signal reaching the antenna module 100, and the ordinate represents the signal amplitude, it can be seen that as the signal amplitude increases, the incident angle is greater, and at this time the position of the signal source can be more accurately determined by measuring the incident angle of the signal, and the positioning accuracy can reach centimeter level, and the AOA technology can adapt to different environmental conditions, such as maintaining high-precision positioning in multipath effect and shielding environment.

[0058] Combining Figure 9 The radiation direction diagram of the two antenna assemblies 3 in the horizontal and vertical directions shown, it can be known that the 3dB lobe width of the two antenna assemblies 3 in the two directions is greater than 120deg., which has good directivity and sufficient radiation width, and can adapt to different environmental conditions to maintain high-precision positioning.

[0059] The application also provides a communication equipment, which comprises the antenna module 100 of any one of the above embodiments, so that the beneficial effects of the antenna module 100 of the corresponding embodiment can be generated. The specific forms of the communication equipment are not limited in the application, for example, it can be a remote control pen, a smart phone, etc.

[0060] The above merely provides part of embodiments of the present application and does not limit the patent scope of the present application. For those skilled in the art, any equivalent structure transformation made by using the content of the present application and the drawings should be included in the patent protection scope of the present application.

[0061] Although the terms "first", "second", etc. are used herein to describe various information, the information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish the same type of information from each other. In addition, the singular forms "one", "a", and "the" are intended to include the plural forms. The terms "or" and "and / or" are interpreted as inclusive, or mean any one or any combination. The exception to this definition occurs only when a combination of elements, functions, steps, or operations are in some way inherently mutually exclusive.

Claims

1. An antenna module, characterized in that, include: Circuit board; An isolation antenna is mounted on the circuit board; At least two antenna assemblies are disposed on the circuit board, and adjacent antenna assemblies are disposed opposite each other, with the isolation antenna disposed between the adjacent antenna assemblies; The antenna assembly includes a first ceramic dielectric layer, a first radiating sheet, a second ceramic dielectric layer, a second radiating sheet, and a third ceramic dielectric layer stacked sequentially. The first ceramic dielectric layer is disposed on the circuit board, and the second ceramic dielectric layer is provided with a through hole. The first radiating sheet and the second radiating sheet are coupled through conductive pillars disposed in the through hole. The first radiating sheet and the second radiating sheet at least partially overlap.

2. The antenna module according to claim 1, characterized in that, The circuit board has a cutout area, and the orthographic projection of the first radiating sheet falls into the cutout area, so that the edge of the first radiating sheet is positioned opposite to the edge of the cutout area.

3. The antenna module according to claim 2, characterized in that, Both the first and second radiating plates are elongated strips, and the length directions of the first and second radiating plates are perpendicular.

4. The antenna module according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The circuit board is provided with a microstrip line, which is coupled and fed to the first radiating plate.

5. The antenna module according to claim 4, characterized in that, The microstrip line and the first radiating sheet are positioned opposite each other along the stacking direction through the first ceramic dielectric layer to achieve coupled power feeding.

6. The antenna module according to claim 5, characterized in that, The relative distance between the microstrip line and the first radiating sheet along the stacking direction is on the order of millimeters.

7. The antenna module according to claim 4, characterized in that, The microstrip line is flush with the surface of the circuit board.

8. The antenna module according to claim 3, characterized in that, The antenna assembly includes multiple solder pads, which are at least disposed on the first ceramic dielectric layer to solder and fix the antenna assembly to the circuit board.

9. The antenna module according to claim 8, characterized in that, The welding foot is located adjacent to the short side of the first radiating sheet, and the distance between the welding foot and the short side of the first radiating sheet is greater than the distance between the long side of the first radiating sheet and the adjacent edge of the hollow area.

10. A communication device, characterized in that, The antenna module includes any one of claims 1 to 9.

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